


purple lilacs and pilfered letters.

by avatraang



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: F/M, Tokka - Freeform, Tokka Week 2020, You've been warned, probably the fluffiest thing I've ever written, this is fluffy as hell, vomit inducing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-08
Updated: 2020-09-08
Packaged: 2021-03-06 16:41:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,509
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26362072
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/avatraang/pseuds/avatraang
Summary: Toph shoves the lilacs into his arms and then takes the letter, putting it in her pouch. “I should pound you into next week for that!”Sokka nudges her, “But you won’t.” She sends a glare in his general direction.“What makes you so sure?”[Somewhere deep in Yu Dao’s marketplace, Sokka discovers an old secret of Toph’s… and of course, doesn’t let her live it down. Written for Tokka Week 2020, Day 3: Knockout. Oneshot.]
Relationships: Toph Beifong/Sokka
Comments: 13
Kudos: 108





	purple lilacs and pilfered letters.

**Author's Note:**

> So, this fic is disgustingly fluffy. Like, there isn’t even a HINT of angst or hurt/comfort anywhere. It’s unnatural for my style of writing, but HERE WE ARE. It’s also shorter than almost anything I’ve written recently, which is also unnatural for me. It’s definitely not my fave, but maybe that’s because I like to hurt myself and only write angst xD This fic is absolutely on the shorter, fluffier, and more humorous side… But happy!Tokka is something they deserve, so here it is!! 
> 
> Written for Tokka Week 2020, Day 3, I decided to stick with the prompt “knockout.” Also, for anyone who’s unaware: Purple lilacs are a symbol of new love. Toph and Sokka are in their late teens/early twenties, here. As per usual, thank you to @CameraLux(TinCanTelephone) for helping me with this fic. Also, make sure to follow me on tumblr (@avatraang).
> 
> I hope you enjoy!

> _In a boxing match, the fighters absorb some vicious blows because they’re ready for them.  
>  And usually, the knockout punch is the one they didn’t see coming. _

**\- Todd Burpo**

* * *

“NO!”

"Sokka, I swear on Oma _and_ Shu-”

"NOOOOO!”

"Sokka!”

Toph fights to keep the laughter out of her voice as Sokka sprints through the streets ahead of her, merchants around them turning to stare as he dives through carts and over toddlers. She really should be angry – he did, after all, just run off with a letter Zuko had written to her – but it’s so ridiculous that Toph decides to just feign annoyance later. She can sense his footsteps loud and clear; he’s heading for the busiest part of the market. Toph picks up her pace, wanting to catch him before he gets there.

Even as she sprints, she smiles to herself. He’s smart. He knows she won’t earthbend in such a populated, crowded area. While her skills are immaculate, the people surrounding her aren’t, and who knows who might get caught in the crossfire. Toph has never been a particularly empathetic person, but even she doesn’t like the idea of anyone who doesn’t deserve it getting hurt due to her earthbending.

“Sokka!” Toph tries again. In front of her, she hears him yelp. There’s a crash. Toph senses a splintered cart in front of her, as well as something round rolling past her. She’s careful to avoid it, hearing the merchant screech as she passes-

“ _MY CABBAGES!”_

Toph winces. “Find me at the Beifong Metalbending Academy, I’ll reimburse you!” 

Her body twists to avoid a five year old who’s absolutely _devouring_ a tub of rice. Inwardly cursing the sheer size of Yu Dao and its marketplace, Toph hears Sokka let out a whoop as he rounds a corner, successfully entering the busiest part of the small city. _Mothefucker._ She’s intent on not losing him. So intent, in fact, that Toph walks right into a wall of flowers, almost knocking herself out.

“Hey!” The merchant cries. Her voice is surprisingly deep for a florist. Toph is jealous of her baritone. “You ruined my only purple lilacs!” The woman cocks her hip to the side, narrowing her eyes in annoyance.

Struggling to get on her feet, Toph brushes the sweat from her forehead. Her bangs are clear of her eyes for a split second, and the merchant stills. “Oh, I’m so sorry, ma’am! Forgive me, I didn’t know you were blind.”

Toph admires the lady for not beating around the proverbial bush. “Sorry about that. How much are they?”

"Don’t worry about-”

" _How much are they?_ ”

Begrudgingly, the merchant gives in. Toph digs into her pouch and hands the money over. It’s then that the woman’s heart rate spikes. As Toph hands her the cash, the lady says, “you’re a… you’re a Beifong?”

"What gave it away?”

"Your wallet has a flying boar on it.” She wraps up the lilacs.

"It does?” Toph places the wallet back into her pouch. “Huh.”

"You’re Toph Beifong, aren’t you?” The woman hands Toph the beat up flowers. “You’re Toph Beifong, and I’m an idiot.”

Toph laughs, loudly. “Don’t sweat it. I like you. And your flowers, even though they almost knocked me out. Come by the academy on Monday. Maybe you can become my new florist.”

With that, Toph wanders off, putting her attention back into finding Sokka. With each slow step, she scans the crowd for him, frustrated by the sheer density of people shopping on a Friday evening. She’s beginning to think she’ll never find him, until just at the edge of her ‘vision,’ Toph senses the tell-tale gait that is her best friend. He’s standing, quietly, by a particularly busy stand.

His slight limp, his long legs, his steps that are the perfect in-between of grounded and flighty. His heartbeat, quick (at the moment) and strong (as always). She grins to herself, the flowers tucked into her right arm as she treks towards Sokka. Judging by his relaxed posture, he hasn’t seen her yet. She wonders if she can sneak up on him quietly enough to grab what he’s stolen from her. Toph is beginning to think she’ll be successful, when Sokka’s heart suddenly accelerates.

"Toph!” he cries, barreling towards her. It’s in complete contrast to earlier, when he’d screamed and ran away. She sighs; he must have read the letter already. If he hadn’t, he would still be running away from her.

"Give me my letter!” she demands, pushing him away. Sokka lets out a yelp as she shoves him, but he does what she asks.

Toph shoves the lilacs into his arms and then takes the letter, putting it in her pouch. “I should pound you into next week for that!” 

But they both know if anyone can talk Toph out of anything, it is Sokka.

"You should,” Sokka nudges her, “but you won’t.” She sends a glare in his general direction.

"What makes you so sure?”

"Because you gave me purple lilacs.” There’s a smirk in his voice. 

Toph suddenly feels uneasy. “What?”

"Purple lilacs,” Sokka says. “They’re the floral symbol for new love.”

Her face bursts into flames. 

He laughs at her. “It’s okay, Toph! I found out just now you have a massive crush on me, anyway.”

"I -what?” Now she’s confused. _Nobody knows about that._

"Yeah.” Sokka’s voice is annoyingly smug as he slings an arm around her, his other arm cast outwards, flowers in hand. “In Zuko’s letter, he mentions the ‘silly crush you used to have on Sokka’ - that’s me, by the way - ‘during the war.’” The grin in his voice is loud. _“Toph Beifong,_ the greatest Earthbender in the world, has a crush on _me.”_

"Hold up,” Toph brings a hand up. “Back _all_ the way the fuck up. Apologize, you fucktart.”

Sokka makes a face, “For what?”

She snorts, “Are you serious? You took my mail and _read it,_ without my permission!”

He huffs. “I was gonna have to read it to you anyway!”

Toph raises a delicate brow at him. Sokka deflates. “Fine. You’re right. I’m sorry.”

Nodding, she smiles smugly. Sokka pokes her side, bringing the conversation back to its earlier point, “So, what’s it like to have a crush on me?” He teases. Toph scowls.

"That was seven years ago.”

Sokka’s hand drops. “So, you don’t have a crush on me anymore?”

Toph studies the atmosphere around them. The careful hope and fragile disappointment Sokka has let in his voice. The bustling of life around them. She considers lying. Instead, she says, “I dunno. Wanna find out?”

The air shifts, from quietly charged to full on electric.

He’s grinning when he answers. “So the flowers really _did_ mean something!”

"Sokka.”

"What?”

"I am blind. I bought the flowers because I ran into the merchant’s stall by accident.” _Duh._

Sokka pouts for a moment. “You’re like…” He considers his words. “You’re like an emotional knockout, Toph.”

"Huh?”

He brings a hand to his heart. “My emotions. You knock them out.”

_"How?”_

"In a sparring match, fighters absorb all the hard blows because they’re ready for them,” Sokka explains. He’s leading them towards the smell of food. “Usually, when a fighter gets knocked out, it’s-”

"-because they didn’t see it coming. So?”

" _So,”_ Sokka huffs, “since we’ve met, you’ve thrown stuff at me that I could never see coming. You’re an emotional – aaand sometimes physical – knockout.”

"Sometimes physical,” Toph wonders aloud. “Does that mean you think I’m… _hot…_ sometimes?” She fights to keep the hope out of her voice.

"I mean, I think you’re hot all the time, but that’s not what I meant.” As soon as he says it, Sokka claps a hand over his mouth. His body tenses and heats up.

Toph stops short, before bursting into laughter. She decides to ignore that her cheeks are now blazing red.

Sokka’s glaring at her, heart pounding, but Toph doesn’t care about his embarrassment. _“Knockout.”_ he grinds out. “Besides, you’re still the one that had a crush on me _first.”_

She punches him, “Just shut up and come here before you make things even more awkward.” Laughing, Sokka does what she asks, sliding closer to her. It’s new, this playful flirting. Toph doesn’t know where it will lead. But as Sokka absently brushes a piece of her loose hair behind her ears, Toph thinks maybe Sokka was right about being a knockout. It’s not for the same reasons Sokka says, though. It’s because later, after he buys them flamin’ kebabs, he’s looking so intently at her that he runs right into a pole, effectively causing him to, well… knock himself out.

She never lets him live it down, but then, he never lets Toph live down her childhood crush on him, either.

* * *

> _...and from then on whenever he smells lilacs he'll think about this moment.  
>  How the bees were circling above him, how purple the ink on the leaflets he's been distributing suddenly seemed,  
> how he realized, all at once, just how beautiful a woman can be. _

― **Alice Hoffman.**

* * *


End file.
